Ministerial Expert Committee on Electoral Reform Final Report

Abstract

The Committee has recommended that for Legislative Council elections the whole of the state of Western Australia be one electorate instead of the present system, where there are 6 members elected for each of the 6 “regions”. This will achieve electoral equality. “Whole of State” electorates have been in use for some time in New South Wales and South Australia. Any Whole of State electorate should be established in conjunction with the abolition of Group Voting Tickets and the introduction of Optional Preferential Voting, which will give voters greater control over their preferences. As is evident from the experience of other jurisdictions, there will be a need to introduce additional regulation of parties and candidates, so that the ballot is reserved for groups and candidates who can demonstrate popular support. The Committee has also suggested other technical measures which may assist in managing the ballot paper. Finally, the Committee has mentioned a number of related issues which arose during the submission period which may be considered in the future